Just laid off? Start here.

Do not sign anything today

Employers often push same-day signatures. Every jurisdiction gives you review time (US ADEA: 21-45 days; EU: cooling-off period; UK: right to independent legal advice). Say: 'I need to review this with an advisor.'

Save the paperwork + email + your work

Download the separation letter, your last three pay stubs, your benefits summary, and any offer letter/equity docs to your personal email. Take screenshots of your LinkedIn recommendations.

Note what you must return and when

Laptop, badge, phone — and the deadline. Any personal files on a work device are usually gone the moment IT revokes access.

Export contacts before you lose email access

Client emails, key colleague personal emails, LinkedIn connections. You have hours, not days.

Tell one trusted person, not the internet

Skip the LinkedIn post today. Emotions are high. Tell your partner, a mentor, or a close friend. Sleep on it before you post publicly.

Get the severance reviewed

An employment lawyer typically charges $300-800 for a review — in the UK/EU your employer often pays this fee. Use the Kyrovo Severance Calculator for a benchmark before the meeting.

Lock in health coverage

US: elect COBRA within 60 days OR compare marketplace plans at healthcare.gov (a layoff is a Special Enrollment event). UK/EU: NHS/public coverage continues. AU: Medicare continues. CA: provincial plan continues.

File for unemployment week 1

US: file with your state UI office within 7 days — you can't backdate. UK: apply for Universal Credit + New Style JSA. EU/AU: register at Jobcentrum/Centrelink/Pôle emploi. Payments take 2-4 weeks to start.

Cut the top 3 recurring expenses

Subscriptions, dining, discretionary shopping. Every $100/month cut = $600 of runway over 6 months. Do it once, don't relitigate every week.

Write your 60-second layoff story

'The company reduced its [X] team by [Y]%. My role was eliminated. I'm now looking for [role type] focused on [problem].' Practice it three times. This is your interview opener and your networking opener.

Update LinkedIn — end-date, headline, open-to-work

The green #OpenToWork ring roughly doubles recruiter InMails. Change your headline from your old title to what you want next.

Send 10 warm-network messages

Not 100 cold ones. Ex-colleagues, ex-managers, people who owe you a favor. Ask for a 15-minute call, not a job.

Pick 15 target companies

Not 150. Deep is better than wide. For each: know one recent product move, one person you'd want to work with, one problem you'd solve on day one.

Run a Friday pipeline review

Every Friday, count: applications submitted, first-round interviews, on-sites, offers. If any column is empty for two Fridays in a row, change tactics — do not try harder at the same thing.

Do 3 mock interviews before the real ones

Interviewing is a skill that decays fast. Pramp, Interviewing.io, or a friend at a peer company. Record yourself; watch it back once, cringe, improve.

Recalculate runway monthly

Actual spend, not planned. If runway drops below 3 months and no offers are near-final, start a bridge role search in parallel: contract, part-time, or a lower-title role at a target company.

Protect sleep and one social ritual

The job search is emotional infrastructure work. One weekly ritual with people who like you (dinner, run, class) keeps the rejection metabolizable.

Have a Plan B by day 60

Consulting, contract, freelance rate: know the number. Not because you'll take it, but because knowing it changes how you negotiate the full-time offer.